Improvement in rigging for gaff-topsails



y y can be set in its place.

1 abated tatet @anni c,

@9K o ef (lattina CHARLESANTHONKOF rRovlDENCF., RHQDE ISLAND'.

Leaarsratmt No.' 9o,14s,1ataz May 1s, 1869.

t IMPRvnMENT in RIGGING :non GeFF-ToPsAms.

The Schedule referred tolix'x 'these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

ABe it known that I, CHARLES ANTHONY, of the city and county of Providence, and State of Rhode-Island,

4haveinvented a new and improved Mode of Hanging 1 and Securing 'GaH-Jlopsails of Vessels; and Ido here- `by declare that the, `following is a full, clear, and exact `.description of the same, reference being had to the ac- `companying drawings, making part of this specifica-` tion, `in `whichi l y Figure lis an elevation ofthe top-mast and gai of auvessel, with-the`top-sail set thereon, yin accordance,

`with my improved mode.

Figure 2 isa detached View. of the top-mast and upl right spar, and the hangings ofthe same.

Figure 3 is a section of the gaf(` `and its spar, and

` `the hangingsA and astenings of the same.

` Similar letters indicatercorresponding' parts Vin all' the figures.

My said invention nis designed more particularly for the smaller class of fore-and-aft riggedsailing-vessels, yachts, fishing-smacks, and the like, in whichv the top-sail is attached to anfupright spar, to which ,the

halyards, or hoistinglline is attached, andruns through ablock secured atzthe masthe'ad, from which the sail hangs, `oris suspended,w`h'ile the free corners .of the sailareattached to other halyards,for lines, one of which passes through an eye, orblock at the peak of the gaii, and all of which are hauled taut to set the sail fromthe deck of the vessel, and are finally secured at the foot vof the mast. e p

` By Jthis mode of hanging the top-sail, its entire w weight, together with the strain produced by its Yrep sistance to the wind, isA sustained by the single rope by which the top-sail is hoisted `to its place, which so 'l v stretches the rope` throughout its entire length as to require it to be frequently set up tokeep the sail snugly apainst the mast, and prevent it from napping when sailing on the wind; and thissevere strain, together with the motion of the sailin tacking, chafes and wears f.

the halyards where-.it passes through the block, and makes itliable to part and let the sail looseV from its hangings, most frequently while the vessel is sailing,

and makes it `necessaryto ascend tothe mast-head to reeve the halyard through the hoistingblock, and secure its end again tothe spar of the top-sail before it t. My invention is calculated to overcome'these and Y other diculties, and to afford a more substantial hangingand fastening, and a more perfect means of setting thetop-sail in apermanent position from `the deck, thanfany hitherto/employed, to my knowledge.

My invention, to this end, consists `in hanging the gaiT-topsail by means, cfa step and pintleA arranged between the upright` spar and the topmast, and with suitable halyards, in such la manner thatthe sail may jlbe hoisted, ,and hung upon its pintle and step, from the deck of the vessel,'and, when thus hung, the halyards arerelieved of all strain, and all chaing in the block, or otherwise, avoided; and

My invention further consists in securing" the top- Vsail permanently to Vtheppeak of the gaiby means of a metallic .latchlink,toperated by halyards from the ,deck, passing through an eye in the end of ,thega insuch a manner that the metal link is drawn through,

the eye, and locked therein by the latch, andthe halyards thereafter relieved from all strain upon them.

In the said drawings- Sis the top-sail, having an upright spar, J, and another spar, F, extending outward-from above the .freely upon these two pintle's.

The halyards Aare made fast to an eye inthe end of the pintle P, vand pass through-the eye D and the.

block O, andthence to the foot of the mast. l

The'halyards H are made fast to an eye in 'the end of the pintle T, and pass through `the eye E, and thence to the foot of the mast, as shpwn in part in igr2.V e In setting 'the top-sail, it is hoisted to its place by the halyards A, which draws the pintle I through its eye D, when, by drawing the halyards Htant, the

pintle ,'l is brought into line with the eye, E, and drawn `down into it by slackening the upper halyardsA, when the sail is securely hung on the twopintles, and both halyards may be secured atthe foot of the mast, leavv l ing the sail hanging, independently of any support from either, by the pintles I and T. The lower halyards Hl should, however, be set taut, to prevent the lower i pintle from lifting fromits step in theeye E.

The outer free end of the top-sail may terminate at or near the end of the gaiilat the point marked B,

and have an eye in the corner of the sail, by which to Vconnect it with the ga, as is ordinarily the case; or

the sail may be secured to the spar F, as shown in the drawings. In either case, Vthe sail may be secured to the gaii' by aI stout iron link, K, having a latch, or lever, f, to the long'arm of which are attachedthe halyards L, lpassing through a stout metal eye, V, nearV the, end of the gai; and after the top-sail is hung upon its pintles, in the manner described, it is further: set

by drawing the halyards. L through the eye V, until l the latch and a portion of the link are drawn through,

' when, `by carrying the halyards yfrom a position at which the latch may draw through the eye V, in line with the link, as illustrated by the arrow W, g.

l 3, towards the foot f the mast, to attain the position illustrated by the arrow X, in fig. 3, whereby the latch f isplaced crosswlseofV the link" beneath the eye V, and thus locksthe linkin the eye, and holds this part of the sail permanently to the gah", at least until this link is again unlocked, at the same time relieving the halyards from further strain.

To free this part of the sail, for the purpose of furling it, or taking it in, it is only necessary to haul the halyards L taut, and draw the latch f into line with the link, when thewhole will readily slip through the eye V, and permit the sail to be hauled down.

It will be seen that the top-sail, by this mode of hanging, is permanently secured by the pintles P and T, and the link K, to the top-mast and gah, without any dependence upon the halyards, which simply serve,

in this connection, to control the said pintles and latchlink, by which alone the sail hangs; also, that swinging upon said pintles, the sail always preserves the same relative position to the mast as the mainsail, and, in consequence, is held more closely to the point ofthe Wind to which the main-sail is set, than would be possible with the uncertainty of the old mode, which depends upon the tautness of the hoisting-halyards, and that, besides this, all chah'n g of the ropes is avoided.

Having described my invention,

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patr' ent, is

'lhe mode described 'of hanging and securing the gailltopsail to the mast and galf by means of the pintles P T and the latch-link K, or their equivalent, op 

